“Because I think it might have been the location of a Vault,” Ben answered. “Your brother must have stumbled upon something and was transformed into a feral. I fear there’s something in the Vault causing your people to change. And that the Sachems know of it.”
“That’s a bold accusation, Ben,” Gus said.
“I think Ben may be onto something,” Skalle mused. “But what of Tatanka’s Curse? How does our land spirit relate to your Vaults and Enochians?”
Ben wanted to tread carefully here. The explosion of the Sun worship in Ænæria seemed to stem from Julius discovering a way to access a Vault in Ænæria. Perhaps something similar had happened in Ney. Whether the Sun and Tatanka were real or figments of people’s imagination, the Vaults were obviously more than just coincidences. Strange how the only other nations Ben had come across were located near Vaults yet as far as he knew, the Penteric Alliance had none.
“Mimir had once told me that the Enochians utilize subtle methods to eradicate civilizations. What if the Curse isn’t from your land spirit, Tatanka, but really the experiments of Enochians?”
Gus and Skalle exchanged glances. Neither of them seemed convinced. They didn’t seem to completely dismiss Ben’s theory either.
A light tapping came from a nearby window. The three looked over and saw a large raven poking its beak at the glass. Ben sat up from his chair and limped over to the windowsill. Hüginn flew in and landed on Ben’s shoulder. It squawked curiously at Gus and Skalle.
“What is this?” Skalle asked.
“A friend. Hüginn, I want you to search behind the falls of the Mouth of Ney. I think the Vault may be in a tunnel back there.”
The bird squawked again and immediately leapt from Ben’s shoulder and back out the window.
“If the Vault is back there, I don’t think I can go alone.”
“I will go with you,” Skalle announced.
Gus’s shoulders dropped with a loud sigh. “I will too. Can’t have you doing anything too reckless.”
“The three of us won’t be enough. We don’t know what will be out there. It sounds to me like the Sachems know about this and are covering it up. They’re not likely to let us go off exploring.”
“I will talk to some of my comrades,” Skalle said. “Perhaps some of them will join us. A party of scouts going beyond the walls is normal. None will question it.”
“That would be great,” Ben said.
Gus looked at Ben with a raised brow. “I don’t have anyone else that would go with us. But you do.”
Ben knew exactly who he had meant. Anger knotted up in Ben’s shoulders at the thought of how Mandi and Darius kept the truth about Arynn from him for so long. That shouldn’t matter now. We came here together for a mission. We should at least see it through together.
Back and forth he paced his room. Waiting. Perched atop the window frame, Hüginn watched silently as Ben stewed in frustration. Patience had been something Ben practiced all his life. He’d waited sixteen years to learn about his parents. Long and hot days under the cruel sun while tending the farm, waiting weeks for any proof of his efforts. He’d waited moons to learn about Arynn’s disappearance, only to have the truth thrown into his face after being held from him the entire time.
No wonder he couldn’t sit still while waiting for Mandi and Darius to show up.
Perhaps he regretted the way he’d treated them when last they spoke. The fact that they’d kept the truth from him didn’t invalidate the times they’d shared, the hardships they’d faced as friends. Did it? Regardless, now they were faced with yet another hardship. One which Ben knew he couldn’t face alone. The frustration and anger needed to be stowed away for now. There was more at stake here than his pride.
Hüginn had returned from the survey behind the falls with recordings of a door made of metal black as the moonless night with symbols that bent with a bright blue hue. Now that the Vault’s location had been confirmed, Ben feared for what would happen next. What would he find inside? Ferals? People undergoing horrid experiments? Is there another sentient machine in there like Mimir doing all this or an actual Enochian? At this point, he hoped his mother wasn’t in there. He didn’t know what he’d do if he discovered she was behind all this.
“You’ve got to stop pacing,” Gus said. He leaned back in a chair at the corner of Ben’s room. Despite being almost fully healed now, Ben hadn’t left the sick house. Gus had let him stay for a little bit longer since most people with Ben’s injuries wouldn’t have made such a fast recovery. Without having patched things up with Mandi and Darius, Ben really didn’t have anywhere else to go. Gus had never invited Ben to his home, wherever that was.
Skalle had been waiting by the door, his massive frame looming over the two of them and making the room feel ever smaller. “He is restless—a common malady before a battle. Perhaps a drink will calm him.”
“I don’t need a drink,” Ben said. He pinched his nose, frustrated. “I just want to get this over with quickly. The more time we wait in here, the longer we let whatever is inside the Vault carry on with its plans.”
“What makes you think there will be any changes?” Skalle asked.
“Mimir told me it was the first time in many years that the Vault was opened. That worries me.”
Gus leaned forward from his chair. He scratched the back of his head, rustling his blond hair. “Wasn’t this Mimir guy created by the Enochians? Can he be trusted?”
Ben frowned. He’d hoped Gus would believe him by now. Then again, he knew how hard it had been for people in the Penteric Alliance to accept what he’d said. Why should Gus be any different?
“He was, but he’s changed since his creation. If I understand correctly, Mimir wasn’t initially designed to think like he does now. As time has gone by, he’s grown more and more like a person. Like a baby learning to talk and think for itself.”
“I do not understand what this Mimir is,” Skalle said. “Is he a man like us or a god like the Enochians?”
“They’re not gods,” Ben pointed out. “They’re similar to humans, just from another world. Their abilities may seem magical or godlike compared to us, but it’s more so the difference of a human to a beast. We can do things a beast can’t like build and speak. They’re immune to disease and have far greater strength and senses than humans.”
“If they’re so powerful, then how can we ever defeat them—why haven’t they taken over already?”
Gus had asked the very question Ben had been struggling with ever since he’d learned of the Enochians from Mimir. He offered the best explanation he had—the one given to him by Mimir.
“Because I don’t think all of the Enochians are bad. My mom’s an Enochian. I’ve experienced some of my dad’s memories of her. She’s the one who told him about the Enochians. It’s clear from those memories that they have a weakness. Something about the way our world has been damaged by the fall of the Old Days makes it difficult for them to stay here for a long time. One of the reasons they have Vaults all over the world is to heal themselves from whatever it is that weakens them. The Vaults are also supposed to have tools inside to change the world’s conditions to be more habitable to them. They don’t attack us in all-out war because that would only further damage the land, delaying them even more. They’re patient, able to wait decades or centuries for results. It can’t be a coincidence that the Vault opened so soon after I unlocked the Grand Vault.”
Skalle’s eyes squinted as if working hard to make sense of everything he’d learned about his homeland and the deity it had worshipped for generations. Gus reacted differently. He looked neither surprised nor dismayed. It seemed he had a better time digesting this information than Skalle. He’s doing better than most people I’ve told.
“Gus,” Ben said, shaking the healer out of his concentrated stare. “This isn’t the first time you’ve heard of the Vaults is it?”
His brow lifted. “Course not. You told me about them when I brought you to the Sachems.”
>
“Right. And I’m convinced they know about the Vault underneath the Mouth of Ney. You seem awfully close with them. They’ve told you about this before, haven’t they?”
A sly smile spread across Gus’s face. Not at all the reaction Ben had expected. “Nope. That was the first time I heard about a Vault in Ney. The one in the Northern Kingdoms, however…”
Skalle leaned forward. “The land of Ænæria? You have been there?”
“He’s from there,” Ben answered on Gus’s behalf.
“Actually, I’m not. It wasn’t Ænæria back then. I was born in Marzora, back before Xander slaughtered the royal family and erected that hideous city of his. I’d heard tales of a magical shrine many leagues west of Marzora. According to the tales, it glowed bright blue even on the darkest of nights for as long as anyone could remember. A few years after Xander’s campaign through the Northern Kingdoms, the lights went out. It was around that time that tales of magical weapons made their way to Marzora. I’d been too young at the time to think of it as anything more than a coincidence. I made the connection as soon as you told the Sachems about Xander and the Vaults.”
Very little of what Gus had said was news to Ben. It had already been known that Julius found a Vault in Minervia, and after accessing it, he was able to rapidly accelerate his hold on the land that would soon become Ænæria. However, it was little bits like this that reminded Ben he knew so little about Gus. He’d tried to get information about his past many times with little success. The Marzoran appeared to only divulge anything about his history on his own terms. Still, Ben felt he needed to try for more.
“How did you get from Marzora to Ney? Why not go to the Penteric Alliance for refuge or one of the other Northern Kingdoms?”
At that, Gus tensed. His backside slid farther against the chair, and his fists clenched ever more tightly. “My family was afraid of Xander. Like I just said, word spread quickly that magic weapons scorched the earth. The other kingdoms and your southern villages were all too close to Xander’s warpath. A family friend was already leaving Marzora, and they thought I’d be safer as far away as possible. We wandered the wastes for a good year before arriving in Ney. I haven’t left since.”
The next question was ready to roll off Ben’s tongue just as a knock banged at the door.
Mandi and Darius stepped in. They both looked terribly awkward, almost as much as Ben felt. He’d sent their invitation through Hüginn and hadn’t seen them since they told him the truth about Arynn. As ever, Mandi’s hood was up, and she made her way straight for a corner. Darius stood about a foot from the entrance, rubbing his arm and looking down at the ground.
They weren’t alone. Liv, the wastelander who’d attacked their camp in the marshlands and then helped them against the ferals in the Cursed Grove, was at the door as well, a few steps behind Darius. She was hardly recognizable after a short time living in civilization. She looked more nourished, and there wasn’t nearly so much dirt on her face and grime in her short hair. The various scars across her face were more noticeable—a consequence of a good face wash. She had a pointed piercing at the center of her lower lip, a stud in the upper lip just above it, and two rings—one at each corner.
“What in the wastes, this whole room is yours?” the wastelander said with shock. Her eyes glistened across the room, which wasn’t all that much bigger than Ben’s room back at home. It could hardly fit the six people inside of it.
“No, he’s just staying here,” Gus said. “Pretty soon I’ll have to kick him out.”
“Oh, so you gonna be cramped with us, huh? Raw deal that is.”
“I’m Ben,” he said, extending his hand to greet her.
Liv took a step back, terror in her eyes. “The wastes you think you’re doing?”
“Her people don’t shake hands or clasp arms like we do,” Darius pointed out. “They see it as a threat.”
Ben drew his hand back. “Oh. Sorry about that. Well, thanks for coming. We can use all the help we can get.” He looked over at Mandi and Darius. “Do you two trust her?”
“Funny you should ask,” Mandi said. “Do you trust us again?”
“He would not have asked you here had he not trusted you,” Skalle said. He bowed his head and introduced himself.
“Blazes, you’re the guy from the prison!” Darius exclaimed. “You made it all the way back here from Ænæria?”
“We can exchange pleasantries later,” Mandi said. “I need to hear it from you, Ben. Do you trust us?”
“I do,” Ben said without pause. “Skalle’s right. I need your help.”
“That’s not the same thing as trust.”
“Maybe we can get to this later,” Darius said. “You know, when there isn’t a crisis?”
“You don’t get a say in this. You’re the one who wanted to keep the truth from him in the first place.”
Ben sighed. “I’m serious. I do trust you. I’m not going to apologize for being mad; it’s not just Darius’s fault—you made a choice to go along with it. But I am sorry for the way I acted. You both deserve to be treated better than that.”
She looked at him for a long moment, hard and unblinking. Her hands lifted and, to Ben’s surprise, she reached for her hood and lowered it. “I’ll take it.”
Darius let out a sigh. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. And since we’re already talking about it—”
“We can talk later,” Ben said. He turned to Liv. “I’m not going to turn down extra help. But we’re going to be getting into really dangerous stuff. I’ve got to know that you’re really committed.”
Liv shrugged. “Look, I ain’t like owing nobody. After Kirk died and Rory ran away in the Cursed Grove, you all was the only ones to help me. Feel like I repay my debt by tagging along.”
I see. This is how wastelanders stick together. The wastes were a lawless land; they had no trade or peacekeepers. Respect must have been the only constant which bound together any group of wastelanders. Without it, they’d all fall apart, and the last bits of civilized humanity would wither away. It made sense to Ben that she’d grown to respect Ben and his friends after their encounter in the Cursed Grove and felt a need to show she could earn their respect back. Almost like payment through honor instead of money or goods.
Ben turned from Liv to Mandi and Darius. “How much does she know?” He didn’t know how many more times he could retell his story to someone who’d just as soon dismiss it as they would laugh at him.
“Well, she saw you fight,” Darius said. “Made the rest of it a bit more palatable.”
“Darius told her everything,” Mandi said with an eye roll.
“Looks like I was right to do so since she’s going to help us,” Darius pointed out.
Liv interjected. “Not that a lick of it made no sense.” That fact didn’t seem to bother Liv in the slightest. If anything, she seemed the most comfortable person in the room. By now she’d kicked off her boots and was sprawled across Ben’s bed, cuddling up against the flat feather pillows. Maybe too comfortable.
“What exactly are we helping with?” Mandi asked.
Ben took in a deep breath, relieved. He wouldn’t have to go through the whole story again. Just what he’d been over with Skalle and Gus. “I’ve confirmed there’s a Vault here, and thanks to Skalle and Gus, I know where it is.”
Darius looked confused. “Wait. How much does your healer know?”
“Reckon I know as much as you at this point,” Gus answered.
“Ben, remember what I said about trusting people—especially outsiders. Even Liv still has me skeptical but—”
Liv snorted. “Oh, quit it, Mandi, I know you love me almost as much as you do Ben over here.”
Mandi blushed and instinctively went for her hood. Gus cracked a smile as he looked back and forth between Ben and Mandi.
Ben contained a groan. There’s nothing between us, he wanted to say. Instead, he ignored it and answered Mandi directly. “He’s less of an outsider than you think. Y
ou two actually grew up relatively close to one another. He left Marzora about thirteen years ago.”
Darius’s eyes widened. “Holy Sun, so you’re Ænærian too?”
“Marzoran,” Gus corrected. “Wasn’t conquered by Xander when I left.”
“Wait. The slaughter of the Severus Clan was thirteen years ago. You must have left just before Xander overthrew the kingdom.”
None of the others seemed to have noticed, maybe because they hadn’t spent as much time with Gus, but Ben was sure the healer had just winced when he heard about the slaughter. He knew very little about Ænæria’s history, only that Julius had left the land a bloody mess before making his way to the Grand Vault for the first time ten years ago. He couldn’t imagine how hard it was for all the people whose families had been forever broken by a man with a psychotic vision of himself as humanity’s savior. Gus clearly took pride in his heritage, and the royal family’s slaughter was a representation of Marzora’s death.
The tension was tangible, like taught wires between everyone in the room. Even Skalle, the one unaffected by the drama, seemed frustrated. “We have gone off track. Ben, we should make plans to leave soon if we hope to retrieve your weapons and reach the Vault before nightfall.”
“Why do we need our weapons?” Darius asked.
“Why before nightfall?” Mandi asked.
“We’re going to the Vault. It’s by the Cursed Grove, and the ferals are more active during the night, so it’s best to avoid them as best we can. Still, who knows what we’ll face inside the Vault.”
28
Arynn
First Hearth, Vestinia; Ænæria
“Oh, but you haven’t given me proper notice, dear!” Estel cried when Arynn asked her about inviting the nobles over for a meeting. It’s not like we’re having it tonight, Arynn thought. She still has a whole week to plan. The meeting had to be postponed anyway after she’d learned of Parvidom’s capture. She and her Rhion had been training twice as hard ever since. Those left behind to defend Vestinia needed to be extra prepared for an attack now that the enemy had established a base so close.
The Heir of Ænæria Page 36
